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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28365456">wasting away (can you take me home?)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/gayleb/pseuds/caydiink'>caydiink (gayleb)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Dream and the various parental figures he manages to collect [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Clay | Dream Angst (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream and Toby Smith | Tubbo are Siblings, Clay | Dream-centric (Video Blogging RPF), DadSchlatt, Dream Team SMP Spoilers, Father-Son Relationship, Guilt, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Imprisonment, Not Beta Read, One Shot, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Self-Harm, basically schlatt didnt die he just got better, but everything else got worse, no beta we die like everyone at the festival, then better at the end!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 22:49:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,679</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28365456</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/gayleb/pseuds/caydiink</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Whatever gods watched over this world must be laughing their fucking asses off right now.</p>
<p>Dream sat in the corner of the prison cell he had commissioned all those weeks ago, locked away like some tool far past its prime. Forgotten. Thrown away. Left alone to rot in the dark.</p>
<p>And rot Dream did.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>AKA- Dream is imprisoned for his crimes, but the isolation starts to eat away at him. Schlatt didn't die at the festival, he was instead offered redemption, if he could get sober and turn his life around. It's been months, and he's finally two weeks sober, and he wants to see his kids, but one of them is locked away.</p>
<p>That wont do, so Schlatt takes him home</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Clay | Dream &amp; Jschlatt &amp; Toby Smith | Tubbo, Clay | Dream &amp; Jschlatt (Video Blogging RPF), Jschlatt &amp; Toby Smith | Tubbo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Dream and the various parental figures he manages to collect [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2070822</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1580</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>wasting away (can you take me home?)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>AFFDHBJFDBHJFGBHJHH ok AKAKA summary: dream angst in the prison and then schlatt taking care of him bc im soft for them &lt;3</p>
<p>THIS IS SO LONG I DIDNT MEAN FOR IT TO GO ON THIS LONG AGDFHGJGBHJFGBHJGFGH</p>
<p>anyways i'll do more notes at the end &lt;3</p>
<p>TW: Implied/Referenced alcohol abuse/alcoholism (Schlatt), and there's some self-harm in Dream's first POV, and mentions of self-harm in the last bit, just be careful &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Whatever gods watched over this world must be laughing their fucking asses off right now.</p>
<p>Dream sat in the corner of the prison cell he had commissioned all those weeks ago, locked away like some tool far past its prime. Forgotten. Thrown away. Left alone to rot in the dark.</p>
<p>And rot Dream did.</p>
<p>He wasn’t sure how long he had been in there. Days? Weeks? Months? It was difficult to tell, minutes blending together until Dream isn’t sure how long he’s laid there, staring into the darkness of the room.</p>
<p>There was no light. No windows. Nothing but him and the darkness. There was a very faint glow coming from the small crack at the bottom of his cell door, but other than that, it was just him.</p>
<p>The darkness was eerie. It reminded him so much of the cold, dark, endless void. His respawn glitching, trapping him in the unforgiving darkness for too long.</p>
<p>
  <i>(Any amount of time spent in that never ending, complete and utter darkness was too much time-)</i>
</p>
<p>Sometimes, Dream would lay on the floor of his cell, and wonder if he was dead. It had been so long since he had seen another person, the final glimpse of life outside of the obsidian walls had been his friends shoving him into this tomb.</p>
<p>The darkness was so similar to the void, he wonders if he never escaped its clutches at all. If he was still floating, caught between life and death, the cold grasp of never ending nothingness slowly wrapping its arms around him, pulling him further and further down each moment spent there.</p>
<p>Moments like those would end with Dream slamming his fist into the closest wall, relishing in the pain from his knuckles making contact with the obsidian, the warm blood trailing its way down his hand.</p>
<p>It hurt, it hurt so goddamn much, but pain meant he was <i>alive oh god he was alive he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to be alive it all hurt so much please someone help him let him out let him out let him go-</i></p>
<p>Some days he wouldn’t stop hitting the wall until he heard something snap.</p>
<p>Anything, as long as he knew he was alive.</p>
<p>
  <i>But what’s worse? To die, alone and forgotten, your legacy wiped from the earth, and any trace of your existence ignored?</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>Or to be forgotten while you’re still alive. The world moves on without you while you’re forced to keep living, watching everyone live the life you’d never be allowed?</i>
</p>
<p>He wasn’t sure when he had last eaten, but it had been at least 5 days since a loaf of bread was slipped through the door by one of Sam’s machines that hadn’t been perfected before being put to use.</p>
<p>It’s not that Dream would’ve eaten anything else he was given. He could barely stomach the few bites of bread he managed every couple of days. </p>
<p>He felt empty.</p>
<p>At the beginning, Dream would try to fill the silence. He would scream into the darkness <i>(praying that someone would hear and let him out please he can be good)</i>, he would sing, talk, hum, anything to make some semblance of noise.</p>
<p>
  <i>(The sound of his fist hitting the brick, the thunk of his skull as he slammed it against the wall, nails digging into his scalp hard enough to draw blood, red tinted nails gripping his arms tight enough to bruise just to feel the ghost of another)</i>
</p>
<p>Dream didn’t know how long he had been in there, but it had been long enough.</p>
<p>Did they really forget about them? They wouldn’t. He had done awful things, but no one deserved <i>this</i>, right? He wasn’t that bad, they didn’t want this for him.</p>
<p>Right?</p>
<p><i>They’ve been waiting for an excuse to get rid of you,</i> the voice in the back of his mind offered, <i>no one’s coming back for you.</i></p>
<p>Dream curled into himself, his mask destroyed long before he was put in here, leaving the tears free to roll down his cheeks, pooling on the floor beneath him.</p>
<p>His hands scrambled for his arms to provide any bit of comfort he could, old dried blood flaking off of his skin, old wounds never healed pulling and reopening as he moved, catching his biceps in an iron grip in some cruel ghost of a hug.</p>
<p>He laid there on the floor, clinging to himself as tightly as he could, fresh blood mixing with the tears that were now freely falling, his breathing shallow as he stared at the small strip of light from beneath the door.</p>
<p>Dream froze when a shadow appeared in front of the door. This hadn’t happened before.</p>
<p>Suddenly, the door was flung open with enough force to slam it into the wall it was attached to, the hinges creaking from lack of use.</p>
<p>Dream shut his eyes at the sudden burst of light flooding the previously pitch black room, faint voices yelling from down the hallway.</p>
<p>Dream finally managed to squint open his eyes, focusing on the figure now crouching in front of him, holding his cheek gently, a hand running through his hair.</p>
<p>
  <i>(God it felt so good. To be held, to be touched not with the intent to hurt or hold down, but just to hold, to comfort him, to help him heal. How long had it been since he was touched with such kindness?</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>How long had it been since he was touched by something that wasn’t his own blood stained hands or the unforgiving obsidian walls?)</i>
</p>
<p>Squinting up at the face above him, Dream let out a sob as he took in their face, his broken voice coming out in a rasp, unbelieving that he was really here.</p>
<p>“Dad…?”</p>
<hr/>
<p>The road to recovery was long for Schlatt.</p>
<p>But it wasn’t impossible.</p>
<p>After everything had happened, after he lost everyone, Schlatt had a decision to make.</p>
<p>He could leave the server, go on his way, start a new life somewhere else, away from everyone he had hurt.</p>
<p>
  <i>(Away from his sons, never getting to see them again, even if it was just a passing glance-)</i>
</p>
<p>Or, he could try to get better. That fateful day, where everyone had surrounded him, weapons drawn and ready to strike the moment they felt necessary, they had extended a hand, willing to help him if he was willing to be helped.</p>
<p>Dream, his own son, had made the offer, his face hidden and gloved hand extended. </p>
<p>What was Schlatt supposed to do? Turn down his own son, leave the server and his family behind? Start again somewhere else, only to repeat it all over again after his inevitable fall?</p>
<p>So Schlatt did the only thing he could do. He took his son’s hand in his, and pulled himself back up.</p>
<p>The road to recovery was long, and Schlatt had only just begun.</p>
<hr/>
<p>It had been months since Schlatt first accepted the help offered to him. </p>
<p>It had started out rough. He was kept in a house built for him, because he hadn’t had anywhere else to go, no house to his name, the legacy he had built crumbled at his feet.</p>
<p>Dream and Tubbo weren’t allowed to see him, they couldn’t stand to see their father in the state he was in.</p>
<p>But they promised, once he was sober, once he was healthy, once he was better, they would visit him together, and they could be whole once again.</p>
<p>
  <i>(Schlatt had so many regrets. He regretted getting into alcohol, he regretted manipulating and lying his way to the top, the empty victory still heavy in his heart.</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>He regrets pushing anyone who dared to get too close away, he regrets not opening up sooner, he regrets not being there for his sons.</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>He has so many regrets, but maybe, just maybe, he could be relieved of one of them.</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>Maybe, he could see his sons again.)</i>
</p>
<p>Finally though, he was sober. Two weeks and going strong. Today was the day his family would be reunited.</p>
<p>The journey had been tough. There had been setbacks, low points, moments where he felt like giving up and giving in, leaving the server and never looking back, pushing everything away until none of it mattered.</p>
<p>But then he thought about the hope radiating off of Dream after he accepted the help, how Tubbo smiled brightly at him as he passed him, walking into the house they had made just for him.</p>
<p>There had been low moments, but Schlatt had pushed through, and finally, <i>finally,</i> his efforts would be worth it. Quackity had come to his door yesterday, congratulating him on the progress he had made and offering him a hug, clapping his shoulder and telling him that tomorrow he’d be getting some more visitors.</p>
<p>He had been vague, but Schlatt knew what he meant. It was the two week mark, which meant he got to see his sons.</p>
<p>
  <i>Finally.</i>
</p>
<p>Schlatt could picture it now, Tubbo excitedly dragging Dream inside, already rambling about everything Schlatt had missed in the months he was gone, hands waving wildly as Dream led him inside, giving Schlatt a smile, his mask pushed up slightly, because he was just with his family. He knew he would be safe here.</p>
<p>They would sit in his living room, catch up, reminisce, and finally be the family they were meant to be. The family they all knew they could become.</p>
<p>There was a knock at the door, and Schlatt couldn’t open it fast enough.</p>
<p>He threw the door open, eyes meeting Tubbo’s, the younger man clearly excited, bouncing in place as a smile broke out on his face, infectious in the way that Schlatt felt his own mouth breaking into a grin at the sight of it.</p>
<p>He looked next to the boy, expecting to find his other son there, smirking the way he did when he didn’t want to let anyone know how happy he truly was. He expected the familiar white mask, comforting in its own way.</p>
<p>What he didn’t expect was to see Quackity and Tommy standing where his second son <i>should</i> be, nervous expressions matching on both of their faces, a stark contrast from Tubbo’s excited, oblivious, look.</p>
<p>Before he could say anything his arms were full of his younger son, gripping onto him tightly in a hug, babbling random words and greetings into his chest.</p>
<p>“Dad, finally! I’ve waited so long to visit you, I had even thought about sneaking in at one point, but everyone told me you were almost ready to see me so I just waited, but it was close! I can’t believe I can finally see you, it’s been so long I-” Tubbo ranted, Schlatt’s arms wrapping around the kid in an equally tight hug.</p>
<p>“Kid slow down, we have time. it’s so good to see you too!” he said, planting a kiss to the top of the boys head, relishing in the laugh it drew from him.</p>
<p>Schlatt looked up at the other two people standing outside his door, watching the scene unfold in front of them with small smiles on their faces, their eyes still filled with the same nervous energy from before, and Schlatt could feel a pit forming in his stomach.</p>
<p>He cleared his throat before addressing the elephant in the room, “Not that I’m not happy to see you kid, but uh, where’s the other one? Pretty sure I had two kids. I may have been an alcoholic, but I’m certain I wasn’t an amnesiac.”</p>
<p>He could feel the tension rise, thick in the air as no one spoke.</p>
<p>Tubbo pulled away and Schlatt let out a small noise of complaint. It went unnoticed though, as the three shared a look between them, a conversation going on unspoken, but still implied.</p>
<p>Quackity took a deep breath after their weird expression conversation thing was done. He stepped forward into Schlatt’s house, Tommy following behind him, closing the door once they were all inside.</p>
<p>“Listen, Schlatt. You might wanna sit down for this,” Quackity started, but Schlatt cut him off  quickly.</p>
<p>“No. Whatever you have to say you can say. Just spit it out and let me see my goddamn son, who I haven’t seen in months.”</p>
<p>The three shared another glance, before Tommy tried, “Schlatt, there’s something we need to explain, but-”</p>
<p>Schlatt cut him off again, letting out a huff in frustration, “then just tell me. Where is my <i>son?</i>”</p>
<p>No one spoke, the silence echoing in the house that had felt like a home for so many months, Schlatt’s fantasies crumbling to dust around him as he heard what Quackity said next.</p>
<p>“He’s in prison, Schlatt. He has been for months. I’m sorry, but it had to be done and-”</p>
<p>“You have to be fucking kidding me,” he said, pacing as he ranted, arms swinging wildly. The others couldn’t do anything but watch as the man spoke, his chest heaving with each breath he took.</p>
<p>“I did not spend months clawing my way out of addiction, the one thought keeping me going being the thought of seeing my sons, <i>both of them,</i> only to be told that once I’m finally two fucking weeks sober, I can’t see one of them because he, what, did something bad? That he has to be locked away from his own fucking family?” Schlatt ranted, turning to face everyone else staring at him in shock, tears gathering in Tubbo’s eyes with every word his father said.</p>
<p>“What did he do, huh? Blow up an entire fucking nation?” Schlatt asked, relishing in the way Tommy flinched back at that, continuing his rant, “or maybe he cheated his way into power and drove a country into the ground.”</p>
<p>They watched as Schlatt stood there, chest heaving and tears gathering in the corner of his eyes.</p>
<p>“Why does he get locked up for whatever he did, when I’m standing here, in a home built just for me, recovering and repenting for what I had done. Why is it fair that everything I’ve done is for nothing, all because he did something bad?”</p>
<p>Schlatt dropped his head, hands gripping the tips of his horns in a nervous tic, squeezing his eyes shut when he felt Tubbo grab one of his hands, gripping it tightly in his smaller one, attempting to comfort the older man any way he could.</p>
<p>“He was dangerous, Dad,” Tubbo started, rubbing his thumb across the back of Schlatt’s hand, “I didn’t wanna do it, but you didn’t see him. It was scary, he was just yelling, and fighting, and trying to escape, and just-”</p>
<p>“You just didn’t want to deal with him?” Schlatt asked, looking at the other two who were watching the interaction closely.</p>
<p>“It isn’t that,” Quackity defended, hands held out in a placating gesture, “we just didn’t know what else to do. He’s stronger than any of us, he’s a fucking admin for god’s sake. What were we supposed to do?”</p>
<p>Schlatt laughed humorlessly, taking a step towards Quackity, his hand never leaving Tubbo’s, “Gee I dunno,” he drawled, rolling his eyes, “maybe you could’ve fucking helped him?”</p>
<p>“He was beyond help,” Tommy cut in, voice loud and arms waving, “he’s too far gone. It’s for the best Schlatt. He’s safe from everyone in the prison, and we’re safe from him. Things have gotten better these past few months.”</p>
<p>Tubbo stayed silent, watching the three argue. Tommy’s words seemed to have the opposite effect he had hoped for, only spurring Schlatt’s anger on more.</p>
<p>“Jesus christ, you’re telling me he’s been locked up, alone, for months, and I’m supposed to think that he’s, what? Safer? <i>Better off?</i>” Schlatt mocked.</p>
<p>He took a deep breath, gently pulling his hand from Tubbo’s, ruffling the boys hair slightly before he spoke again.</p>
<p>“I want to see him.”</p>
<p>Tommy and Quackity sputtered at that, jumping to offer any excuses as to why he couldn’t, about how it wasn’t safe and it was against the rules and he couldn’t do it and-</p>
<p>Schlatt cut them off, raising his hand as he spoke, anger thick in his voice, “Let me rephrase that. I was told that, when I was two fucking weeks sober, I would be allowed to see my <i>sons,</i>” Schlatt said, eyeing up the two boys in front of him.</p>
<p>“So I’m gonna see both of my fucking sons, whether you like it or <i>not.</i>”</p>
<p>Tommy looked like he was about to argue, but Tubbo placed a hand on his shoulder, looking back at Schlatt, “c’mon Tommy,” he said, eyes soft and sad, “we told him he could see both of us. it’s only fair. It isn’t like Dream can do much right now. We can even bring other people to act as guards if it makes you nervous.”</p>
<p>Tommy still looked unsure, and Tubbo spoke up again, his voice quiet, but it still carried through the otherwise silent room.</p>
<p>“Please Tommy. I miss him.”</p>
<p>Tommy groaned, burying his head in his hands and Quackity just groaned, throwing his hands in the air.</p>
<p>“Fine!” Quackity said, looking at Schlatt and Tubbo, “you can visit him. But if he does one thing, <i>one thing</i> out of line, we’re closing the door and leaving immediately.”</p>
<p>Schlatt let out a breath he hadn’t realised he had been holding and Tubbo cheered, thanking the two loudly, hugging Tommy quickly before returning to Schlatt’s side.</p>
<p>“C’mon!” he said, dragging Schlatt out the door, the other two hot on their heels, “I haven’t seen him in so long, he’s gotta have calmed down by this point! I bet he misses us as much as we miss him!”</p>
<p>Schlatt closed his eyes as he let Tubbo lead him, his heart racing as he thought about the son who was just as lost as he had been.</p>
<p>The son who had offered him a path to redemption, only to be thrown away like he almost was in retaliation.</p>
<p>No one had been there to offer Dream a hand up, another choice, a way to claw his way back out of the pit he had fallen into. </p>
<p>That changed today. Even if no one had been there for Dream before, he would be there today, a light in the darkness, ready to guide his son out of the hell he had found himself surrounded by.</p>
<p>He was sure of it.</p>
<hr/>
<p>They had gotten Sam, Punz and Fundy to escort them into the prison, all three donning full netherite, swords hanging sheathed at their hips.</p>
<p>Schlatt didn’t care who was with them and what they were wearing, so long as he go to see his son.</p>
<p>
  <i>(How lonely must he be. Schlatt had only been locked away in a house, built with his comfort in mind, visited weekly by at least one person, to check in on him, make sure he was doing well.</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>That alone nearly drove him mad, the isolation of it all. Schlatt knew Dream was a social person, he craved the touch of others, enjoyed even the smallest of interactions.</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>That’s what terrified Schlatt. Not what his son may have done, or what others may have done to him, but what the lack of others has done to him.</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>What had months alone, with no one but the walls of his cell and the sound of his own voice done to his child?)</i>
</p>
<p>Schlatt didn’t say anything as Sam led them through the prison, to the center of the building where Dream was being held, he just held onto Tubbo’s hand and put one foot in front of the other, staring straight ahead.</p>
<p>He ignored how dark it was, the torches lit against the walls barely enough to light up the pitch black obsidian, the material seeming determined to suck any light out of the room, casting a dim, ominous light on everyones’ faces.</p>
<p>Their footsteps echoed in the silence, no one daring to say anything. What was there to say?</p>
<p>Finally, after fifteen minutes of walking down endless empty hallways, the group stopped in front of a door.</p>
<p>Looking at it, Schlatt wouldn’t have guessed it held the server’s perceived most dangerous person. There was nothing outside implicating what was held within. It was unsuspecting, just a door in a hallway, surrounded by empty corridors.</p>
<p>Sa looked back at them all before pulling out a key, “this is the key to his door,” he explained, putting it in the lock, hand resting on the key, “just, be prepared for whatever he’s gonna be like. He isn’t the same person you remember.”</p>
<p>Schlatt just nodded, standing in front of the door, Tubbo slightly behind him as the others stood around them in the hall, far enough to give them space, but able to intervene if needed.</p>
<p>The door opened, and everyone held their breath.</p>
<p>The room was pitch black, the light from the hallways barely illuminating the floor outside of the door.</p>
<p>“Where the fuck is he?” Fundy asked from behind Schlatt, and someone muttered something in response, but Schlatt didn’t care, all he cared about was <i>finding his goddamn son-</i></p>
<p>A light was held up behind him by Punz, illuminating the rest of the room, and everyone froze.</p>
<p>The walls were covered in small splashes of blood, obvious signs of something hitting the obsidian bricks repeatedly evident in the small dents and scratches left behind, pools of dried blood littering the floor.</p>
<p>There was half eaten mouldy loaves of bread scattered around the floor, the smell enough to make people gag.</p>
<p>And then there was Dream.</p>
<p>His boy, his son, the kid he had sacrificed everything for, the kid he suffered through months of torment and struggle and frustration and hell for, just to be able to <i>see him again-</i></p>
<p>he didn’t want to see him like this.</p>
<p>Dream looked so fucking small, huddled in the corner, blood covering him, his knuckles swollen and bruised, new and old blood mixing together, staining the ghostly white of his skin. He could see the forced Dream was holding himself with, fingernail shaped cuts littering the exposed parts of his arms, and decorating his face and head, the caked blood beneath his nails evidence enough to what had happened.</p>
<p>Schlatt heard someone throw up behind him, voices yelling in concern and shock, arguing about <i>what the fuck happened? why was it so fucking dark, was it meant to be like that? how long had he been like that, where did all the blood come from? what the fuck happened?</i></p>
<p>And that was the question, wasn’t it?</p>
<p>What the <i>fuck</i> happened?</p>
<p>Schlatt ignored everyone behind him, racing to Dream’s side, dropping to his knees next to his soon, frantically searching him for any life threatening wounds.</p>
<p>He shook Dream by the shoulder gently, whispering in a frantic voice, “kid, hey kid, Dad’s here okay? I need you to wake up now, alright? Can you do that for me?”</p>
<p>Schlatt panicked at the lack of response, a hand coming up automatically to rest in Dream’s hair, brushing the blonde hair away from his face, his other hand stroking his cheek fondly, brushing away any blood or grime that he could.</p>
<p>God, he looked fucking awful. His face was gaunt and any patch of skin not covered by blood was a pale, sickly white, his bones visible from beneath his skin, the clothes that used to hug his form snugly now hanging loosely on skeletal limbs.</p>
<p>Schlatt sobbed as Dream’s eyes opened, blearily looking up to meet his. In a half dazed state, barely lucid, Dream muttered one word.</p>
<p>“Dad…?”</p>
<p>Schlatt lost all of his composure at that, tears freely flowing as he pulled Dream into his lap, running a hand through his air, trying in vain to comfort his son, the obsidian floor cold beneath them.</p>
<p>“I’m here kid,” he said, his voice soft and eyes warm, smiling down at Dream as softly as he could manage, the blonde’s hazy eyes trying to find his own, “I finally found you. You’re a tough bastard to track down, ya know that? Two weeks sober and my son couldn’t even drop by, I had to chase him down myself.”</p>
<p>Dream let out a weak laugh that turned into coughs, his entire body heaving with the force of each cough, his throat raw and voice hoarse.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry Dad,” Dream said, hand wrapping around Schlatt’s wrist with a surprising amount of strength for his current state, “I didn’t mean to disappoint you.”</p>
<p>Schlatt let out a wet chuckle, stroking Dream’s cheek as he pressed a kiss to his forehead, pulling him closer, “you could never disappoint me kid, I am so proud of you. You did so well, and you’ve still got so much more to do. I’m gonna get you out of here now.”</p>
<p>Dream smiled and nodded, his eyes slipping closed yet again, and he went limp in Schlatt’s lap.</p>
<p>For one terrifying moment, Schlatt thought his son had died, but the slight rise and fall of his chest let him breathe a sigh of relief.</p>
<p>He picked Dream up quickly <i>(and oh god when had he gotten this light, he used to be so big, so strong, so self assured and confident, where had that kid gone, what happened to him all these months alone in the dark?)</i> and turned to the door to the cell, thanking any god that as out there no one was protesting.</p>
<p>Tubbo ran forward, tears already streaming down his face, and latched onto his hand, being careful to avoid his busted knuckles.</p>
<p>“He’s gonna be okay, right Dad?” Tubbo asked, his voice rough from the sobs that had torn through it, looking up at Schlatt, his eyes wide and wet.</p>
<p>Schlatt just nodded, “he’s gonna be fine Tubs, it’s gonna take more than this to take the bastard out.”</p>
<p>Tubbo laughed wetly, nodding, and walked beside Schlatt back out into the hallway.</p>
<p>Everyone watched them as they exited the cell, Sam moving forward and slamming it shut once they were all out, the lock clicking as the door closed.</p>
<p>“Jesus fucking christ,” Tommy said, staring at Dream with wide eyes.</p>
<p>“You can say that again,” Punz said, glaring at the door to the cell as if it would take back everything Dream had been through, praying that when he looked back his friend wouldn’t be half starved to death, covered in his own blood.</p>
<p>Sam just shoved the keys into his pocket before speaking up, “he’s not going back in there,” he said, an air of finality in the statement. He looked at everyone, daring anyone to challenge him.</p>
<p>They all just nodded.</p>
<p>“I didn’t know it was that bad,” Fundy said, his gaze still locked on the unmoving form of his friend, his voice wavering at the end of the sentence.</p>
<p>“No one did,” Tommy said, falling in line next to the hybrid as their group made their way towards the exit. Towards freedom.</p>
<p>“I think he’s been through enough,” Quackity said quietly from the front of the group, refusing to look back and see what Dream had become.</p>
<p>Schlatt stayed silent, holding Dream closer to his chest. He would ensure Dream wouldn’t be locked up again, even if he had to fight off the entire server.</p>
<p>No one was taking his son away from him again, he could be sure of that.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Dream woke up somewhere warm and soft. He felt his body freeze at the unfamiliar sensation.</p>
<p>Where was he?</p>
<p>Ever since he had been locked away, Dream had resigned himself to waking up every day, alone and in pain on the cold, unforgiving floor, the darkness eating away at him more and more every time he woke up to its embrace.</p>
<p>It wasn’t pleasant, and it was steadily driving him further and further over the edge, but it was what he knew.</p>
<p>So when he woke up in a dimly lit room, a blanket covering his body, bandages covering his hands and arms from what he could see, more on his face that he could feel.</p>
<p>Dream could vaguely remember a dream he’d had. The door had opened, and Schlatt had been there, his hand carding through his hair gently, comforting him as he panicked.</p>
<p>But it had to have been a dream, right? There was no way they would let Schlatt see him, let alone <i>touch him-</i></p>
<p><i>(Because he wasn’t worthy of touch. He was a bad person who had done bad things, and he didn’t deserve the comfort that was reserved for good people, people who </i>deserved<i> it.)</i></p>
<p>But then the door opened, and Schlatt was quietly walking into the room, his eyes meeting Dream’s, his face lighting up at the sight of the younger man being awake.</p>
<p>“Jesus chri- oh my god, kid, thank god you’re awake,” he said, rushing over to the chair Dream had just now noticed resting beside his bed. There was a book on the side table, a glass of water placed next to it.</p>
<p>Schlatt sat down quickly, one hand automatically reaching up to his hair, running his fingers through it gently as he spoke, the other hand reaching under the blanket to grab Dream’s own hand, squeezing it reassuringly.</p>
<p>“It’s been a while since we got you out of there. Everyone’s been so worried, it's been nearly impossible keeping Tubbo out so you could rest, oh boy he’s gonna be <i>ecstatic</i> to hear you’re finally awake,” Schlatt rambled, Dream just watching him speak, relishing in the contact.</p>
<p>Dream tried to speak up and ask what had happened, but his throat was dry and all he could manage was a weak cough.</p>
<p>“Ah shit,” Schlatt cursed, grabbing the cup of water from the table and carefully holding it up to Dream’s lips, “alright, take a couple of small sips, it’ll help your throat.”</p>
<p>Dream obliged, slowly sipping at the water before it was pulled away, placed back on the table gently by Schlatt.</p>
<p>“Alright kid, what did ya wanna ask me?”</p>
<p>Dream cleared his throat, a million thoughts racing through his mind.</p>
<p>
  <i>What happened? Why was he free? Where was Tubbo? Was he finally free? For good?</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>Was he going to be forced back into that cell, condemned to live out the rest of his days in silence after being given a small taste of freedom?</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>Were they really that cruel?</i>
</p>
<p>Dream pushed those questions aside, choosing to instead ask, “are you okay?”</p>
<p>Schlatt blinked, processing the question. They sat there for a moment, no one speaking, before Schlatt suddenly burst out into laughter, the hand brushing through Dream’s hair retracting so he could brace himself on the table.</p>
<p>“Am I- am <i>I</i> okay? Jesus christ kid, you get out of solitary confinement after months of torture, and you- you fucking ask if <i>I’m</i> okay? Jeez kid,” Schlatt said, wiping a tear from his eye, his hand returning to Dream’s hair (much to his delight) before continuing, “you really are something else.”</p>
<p>Schlatt gently ruffled his hair, smiling at the light blush that coated Dream’s cheeks (and god if it didn’t feel great, seeing some semblance of colour in his kids face after the days of nothing but a pale, sickly white).</p>
<p>Dream just huffed in annoyance, shrugging his shoulders slightly. Schlatt gave pity on him, speaking up again, “yes kid, I’m fine. Your brother and I are both fine. We’ve just been worrying about you.”</p>
<p>That calmed Dream down, and he smiled back at Schlatt. The movement felt foreign to him, it felt wrong on his face, after months of never smiling, never showing anything, it felt-</p>
<p>It felt nice.</p>
<p>“I’m glad,” he said, squeezing Schlatt’s hand slightly. </p>
<p>Schlatt ruffled his hair again before standing up, moving to head for the door, “alright kiddo, I’m gonna go grab you some food really quick, because it has been way too long since you last ate and-”</p>
<p>
  <i>(Dream remembered his friends shoving him into the cell, their faces watching him as he slid across the stone.</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>They walked away one by one, until it was only him and Sam, his friends leaving him behind, leaving him to this torture-</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>The door shut tight and suddenly he was alonealonealone so cold so alone no one but himself, he was being left behind again he was being forgotten he was gone he was-</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>LET HIM OUT PLEASE HE WAS GOOD LET HIM OUT HE HAD EARNED IT HE HAD-)</i>
</p>
<p>His hand grabbed Schlatt’s wrist with surprising strength, pulling him back towards the bed. He hadn’t even realised he had moved until Schlatt’s hands were on his face, gently wiping away the tears that had begun to fall sometime in the last 10 seconds.</p>
<p>His ears were ringing and his eyes were wide, and Schlatt’s low murmur of “it’s okay kid I’m here, I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere, you can’t get rid of me that easily you know-” echoed in the back of his mind.</p>
<p>He gripped his wrist tighter and Schlatt just pressed a kiss to his forehead.</p>
<p>“Don’t go,” he said.</p>
<p>“I won’t,” Schlatt replied.</p>
<p>He took a seat back in the chair, Dream’s hand moving from gripping his wrist to holding his hand, his grip still tight, but less fearful, less desperate.</p>
<p>Schlatt just squeezed it comfortingly, “I can just make Niki make us lunch, she’s a much better cook than I’ll ever be. Or even Tubbo! Who knew that kid could bake, I swear both of you are so talented and I have no clue where you get it from!”</p>
<p>Schlatt kept talking, his voice a comforting sound <i>(anything but the silence, the loud, oppressing, ominous silence that hung in the air, clinging to his senses as he tried to remember what the voices of his friends sounded like)</i>.</p>
<p>Dream leaned back into the bed, falling asleep to the feeling of a final kiss being pressed against his forehead, a hand still tightly enveloped in his, and the whispers of a promise.</p>
<p>“I’ll be here when you wake up kiddo, don’t worry. No one’s going anywhere.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>there we go!! second parental figure accquired!!!</p>
<p>I honestly had sm fun writing this, and i love this family dynamic so much!! i am also a schlannie so :///</p>
<p> </p>
<p>i have more planned for this future so keep an eye out ;))</p>
<p>if you liked it please consider leaving a kudos/comment bc those fuel me!!</p>
<p>and if you're interested check me out on insta @caydiink</p>
<p>thank you for reading!! have a great day &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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